=============================================================================== Aero Fighters FAQ (arcade) v1.02 (01/06/2004) Written by Baby Bonnie Hood (bbhood21@yahoo.com) =============================================================================== This FAQ Copyright (c) 2003 Jason Carl R. Algarme This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any website (other than www.GameFAQs.com) or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other website or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. Aero Fighters/Sonic Wings (c) 1992 Video System Co., Ltd. All other trademarks and copyrights contained in this FAQ are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= I. Introduction II. Controls III. Gameplay IV. Planes - F/A-18 Hornet - Fighter Support X - AJ-37 Viggen - AV-8 Harrier - F-14 Tomcat - F-15 Eagle - JAS-39 Gripen - Tornado IDS V. Stages - Random Stage: U.S.A. - Random Stage: Japan - Random Stage: Sweden - Random Stage: England - Stage 4: Middle East - Stage 5: Mediterranean - Stage 6: Russia - Stage 7: Space VI. Miscellaneous - Name Change - Aero Fighters vs Strikers 1945 - Special Appearances VII. Conclusion VIII. Special Thanks IX. Version History I. INTRODUCTION =============== Aero Fighters is an arcade vertical shoot-em-up game, and I don't mean the "3D first person shooter" kind of shoot-em-up (or shmup for short). In this game, you control a jet fighter as you fly over various places in the world and shoot at military enemies as you go. It's a pretty simple game (it's an old game from 1992, after all); dodge enemy fire, grab power-ups and point bonuses, blow up whatever you come across, and take down the big bad boss at the end. It's a nice shmupping formula that you'll see again and again in other shmups that will come after this one, and that formula will be improved upon as well. Yes, it's an old game; but it's still fun to play even now, and it did start a unique shmup style. So if you ever come across this game, it's my hope that you'll have a lot of fun playing it :) II. CONTROLS ============ There's not really much to it. Joystick moves your plane, A button shoots, and B button bombs. Easy enough... III. GAMEPLAY ============= It's a simple concept, but one that works. You move your plane around, dodging enemy fire and shooting at enemies as you go; just like that. Apart from the main view (where all the action takes place), there are also letters, numbers, and icons on the gaming screen. First, your score is shown at the top-most part of the screen. It'll increase as you grab and blow up stuff, and you'll be rewarded with an extra life (only once) if it reaches 200000 or 300000 (depending on the machine's settings). And speaking of lives, they're displayed just below your score. You start the game with 1 to 4 lives (again depending on the machine's settings, but it's usually 3), and you lose one when an enemy bullet hits you or you collide with an airborne enemy. Once you're out of lives, it's pretty much Game Over... unless you continue, that is. And finally, you have your bombs at the bottom of the screen; you start out with two, but you can collect more. Bombs are used for your plane's bomb attack, a powerful attack that does a lot of damage, covers a wide area, and nullifies enemy bullets. Bomb attacks use up one bomb; and if you run out of bombs, then you can't do bomb attacks anymore. There are items that you can collect throughout the game. These items are listed and described here: Power-Up - A bullet (not the enemy kind) with a P on it. Grabbing this will strengthen your plane's firepower (up to three levels); the 3rd level is limited though, and will revert back to the 2nd level after you've fired enough with it. If you grab this item while you're already at the 3rd level, you'll score 2000 points instead and your 3rd level firepower will be recharged. Full Power - A bullet (again, not the enemy kind) with an F on it. Grabbing this will boost your plane's firepower to the maximum level immediately. If you're already at max, then you'll just score 10000 points instead and your firepower will be recharged. Bomb - A bomb with a B on it. Grab these to use them for the bomb attack. If you already have 6 bombs when you collect this, then you'll just score 10000 points (a waste of a bomb, in my opinion). Note that you cannot collect more than 6 bombs. Currency - Either a Dollar, a Yen, or any other currency (depending on which plane you chose). Anyways, these are point bonuses; grab them, and you score 1000 points. This game has a total of 7 stages, and all of them end with a boss battle. Once a boss is destroyed, you fly on to the next stage. If you take too long fighting a boss however, it'll self-destruct and leave you with no points as well as a wave of enemy bullets to deal with; but you'll still fly on to the next stage afterwards. After you complete all 7 stages, you'll be treated to the ending of your plane's pilot. If it's a 2-player game, then you'll be shown a joint ending of your two planes' pilots. However if you let the final boss escape (unlike all the other bosses, it doesn't self-destruct), then you'll be shown a bad ending instead. Nevertheless, the game isn't over yet; after the ending, you'll fly through all 7 stages again and this time the challenge will be harder. This is known as a second loop. The game ends when you run out of lives and don't continue, or you finish all 7 stages twice. And that's all there is to it... IV. PLANES ========== There are 8 planes to choose from, varying in speed, firepower, appearance, and pilot. Only 4 planes are available to each player; and if it's a 2-player game, both players can only select two planes from the same country. The following info will describe what these planes are, what they can do in the game, and who their pilots are. First, the four planes that you can select only from the Player 1 side: F/A-18 HORNET ------------- Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Blaster Keaton Snake Napalm F.A.E. The F/A-18 "Hornet" is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II fighter and A-7 Corsair II light attack jet, and also replaced the A-6 Intruder as these aircraft were retired during the 1990's. (Source: Military Analysis Network ) The pilot: Keaton is your typical American military guy. All patriotic, all heroic, and all that stuff; nothing much special... at least, not right now ;) The plane: The F-18 possesses a decent straight shot. For its subshot, it fires burning napalm that passes through and damages anything in its path; it also moves a little to the left or right when you move left or right. And for its bomb attack, it drops down a bomb that causes a really huge explosion; the plane will loop over as it does this to avoid enemy fire, so this bomb can save you in a pinch. Overall: The F-18 has average speed and its firepower packs a punch. Its bomb attack is also quite powerful and life-saving too. A decent plane. FIGHTER SUPPORT X (FS-X) ------------------------ Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Hien Ninja Missile Ninja Beam The Mitsubishi F-2 is a Japanese fighter aircraft manufactured by Mitsubishi, based on the American F-16. In October 1987, Japan selected the F-16 as the basis of its new fighter, to replace the Mitsubishi F-1. The F-2 programme has been controversial because the unit cost is roughly 4 times that of a Block 50/52 F-16, but this demonstrates Japan's commitment to its aerospace industry. Before its official designation of "F-2" in 1996, it was known as the FS-X. (Source: Wikipedia ) The pilot: Hien is a ninja, one of the coolest kinds of humans on the planet. Ever loyal to his Shogun, he follows orders without hesitation; all for peace, honor, and the way of the Ninja... I suppose. The plane: The FS-X shoots shurikens. Yes, shurikens. And these shurikens are replaced by hi-speed kunai daggers at max level. For its subshot, it fires seeking missiles that slowly home in on any target. And for its bomb attack, the plane unleashes a powerful energy beam; no doubt, ancient Ninja power in action. While this beam is active, the plane cannot be harmed and it can also still move around. Overall: The FS-X is a fast plane; it also has fast and rapid firepower, but it's quite erratic. It also has a nice bomb attack, but its pretty concentrated and only does decent damage. It's still a cool plane, though. AJ-37 VIGGEN ------------ Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Kowful the Viking Metal Storm Thor Hammer The AJ-37 is a Swedish-made attack aircraft, part of the System 37 project that was launched in 1960. The first to be built, the AJ, is primarily a ground and sea attack aircraft with a secondary fighter role. The design utilizes a large double delta wing, large flapped canards, tandem wheel main landing gear, and thrust reversers to achieve short takeoff and landings from rough terrain and country roads. All remaining front line AJ-37's are of the SF-37 and SH-37 varieties, equipped for all-weather day/night reconnaissance and all-weather maritime surveillance/strike respectively. (Source: Aerospaceweb.org ) The pilot: Kowful is a viking, and he's out to prove that he's the strongest. And what better way to do it than to fly a jet and blow everything to kingdom come? >:) The plane: The AJ-37 shoots a strong straight shot that's pretty wide. For its subshot, it sprays its front with a scattershot of twin missiles. And for its bomb attack, it loops over and releases 8 big missiles that home into and blow through whatever they come across; this attack's overall effectiveness depends on what the missiles decide to attack. Note that these missiles do not stop enemy bullets. Overall: Average speed and strong firepower make this plane a good choice. But its bomb attack leaves something to be desired... AV-8 HARRIER ------------ Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Villiam Sid Pride Cross Missile Support Bomber The Harrier vertical take-off and landing fixed wing warplane has earned its place in history as the only successful operational "jump jet", as the press likes to call it. Using vectored engine thrust through four rotatable nozzles, the Harrier was born in England from a prototype, the Kestrel, which first flew in October 1960. Before the decade was out the Royal Air Force was flying them operationally, then the U.S. Marine Corps bought them in 1970 as the AV-8A, replaced by the AV-8B which serves the Marines today as one of its primary ground attack aircraft. (Source: Jeff Ethell's Pireps ) The pilot: Villiam is a royal prince, and his bride has been kidnapped by the enemy! He's obviously not too happy about this, so now he's gonna kick some butt and rescue her. The plane: The AV-8 fires 3 shots in a spread pattern, once it's powered up enough that is. Its subshot is a pair of missiles that shoot off forward, to add to the plane's frontal firepower. And its bomb attack consists of three bombers flying over the area and carpet bombing the heck out of everything in sight. This attack is devastating but it doesn't nullify bullets nor damage anything until the bombs make their impact, and that takes a long while to happen. So don't expect this bomb attack to save you from immediate danger. Overall: Its firepower covers a lot of area, and its bomb attack is extremely effective. But on the downside, the bomb attack is slow; and this plane also happens to be the slowest of all the player planes! It can be a very powerful plane if you can play it right... And now, the four planes that you can select only from the Player 2 side: F-14 TOMCAT ----------- Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Keith Bishop Phoenix Missile Tomahawk The F-14 "Tomcat" is a supersonic, twin-engine, variable sweep wing, two-place fighter designed to attack and destroy enemy aircraft at night and in all weather conditions. The F-14 can track up to 24 targets simultaneously with its advanced weapons control system and attack six with Phoenix AIM-54A missiles while continuing to scan the airspace. Armament also includes a mix of other air intercept missiles, rockets, and bombs. (Source: Military Analysis Network ) The pilot: Keith is typical American military guy #2. Sporting some cool shades, he does what any American soldier does best... so yeah, yay for him. The plane: The F-14 shoots a strong and wide straight shot. For its subshot, it fires powerful seeking missiles; upon impact, they cause small explosions with a lengthy burn time to keep on damaging whatever they hit. And for its bomb attack, a barrage of large missiles bombards the whole area. It covers the whole screen, but it doesn't nullify bullets immediately (there's a short delay before that happens) so be careful. Overall: Strong firepower, full-screen bomb attack, and fast speed. The F-14 is quite a good plane. F-15 EAGLE ---------- Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Mao Mao Gull Laser E-Wave The F-15 "Eagle" is an all-weather, extremely maneuverable, tactical fighter designed to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. The Eagle's air superiority is achieved through a mixture of maneuverability and acceleration, range, weapons, and avionics. The F-15 has electronic systems and weaponry to detect, acquire, track, and attack enemy aircraft while operating in friendly or enemy-controlled airspace. Its weapons and flight control systems are designed so one person can safely and effectively perform air-to-air combat. It can penetrate enemy defense and outperform and outfight current or projected enemy aircraft. (Source: Military Analysis Network ) The pilot: Mao Mao is a Japanese megastar; she sings, she acts, she does all that popular idol stuff. But today, she's flying a jet fighter; actually, it's more like she's riding a jet fighter that's flying itself. What's going on...? The plane: The F-15's main shot is a simple but decent straight one. For its subshot, it shoots forward lasers that tear through anything in their path. And finally, its bomb attack is quite unique; instead of a typical mass destruction attack, the plane unleashes a shockwave that stops time (and also does a little damage, wiping out weak enemies). Everything except the player planes are frozen in place, allowing you to freely shoot at the helpless enemies until the effect wears off. Overall: The F-15 is the fastest of all the planes here. It needs to be, because its firepower is a bit weak. Also, its bomb attack is quite variable; it could either do great damage or crap damage depending on how you use it, so use it well. JAS-39 GRIPEN ------------- Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: T.B. A-Ten Float Mine Grand Napalm The JAS-39 Gripen is the result of a joint development by Saab Military Aircraft, Ericsson Microwave Systems, Volvo Aero Corporation and Celsius Aerotech. It is a fourth generation, multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen fighter combines new knowledge-based, software-controlled avionics systems; modern materials; advanced aerodynamic design; a well-proven engine and fully- integrated system to produce a highly-capable, true multi-role combat aircraft. The Gripen is the first Swedish aircraft that can be used for interception, ground-attack and reconnaissance (hence the Swedish abbreviation JAS -- Fighter (J), Attack (A) and Reconnaissance (S) in Swedish) and is now successively replacing the Draken and the Viggen. (Source: Military Analysis Network ) The pilot: T.B. is a robot, programmed to be the absolute best jet fighter pilot. Will it be able to prove that claim, or will it be just replaced with a better model? The plane: The JAS-39 fires a simple straight shot. For its subshot, it litters the place with hovering mines that wander around. These mines do big damage upon impact, and they also stop enemy bullets. And for its bomb attack, it releases a giant wave of burning napalm that burns everything in its path. But beware, this napalm wave does *not* nullify bullets! Overall: Another slow plane and with erratic firepower to boot, but the firepower is quite strong and the bomb attack is quite devastating too. It's a tricky plane to use... TORNADO IDS ----------- Pilot: Subshot: Bomb Attack: Lord River N. White Napalm Dispenser Ring Bomb Intended as a multi-role strike aircraft, the Tornado IDS was an international project designed by the three members of Panavia, the UK's British Aerospace, Germany's MBB, and Italy's Aeritalia. The Tornado design is still quite effective despite being over 30 years old. The aircraft can carry a wider range of weaponry than any other aircraft ever built yet is also compact and can fly at the fastest combat speed at sea level of any aircraft ever built. The Tornado is also noteworthy for having the highest payload weight to empty weight ratio of any aircraft other than the F-16. In addition to its exceptional performance, the Tornado is well-suited to low-level high-speed bombing missions thanks to its advanced nav/attack system including a search, ground-mapping, and terrain-following radar. (Source: Aerospaceweb.org ) The pilot: Lord White is an old pilot, but he's still able to fly with the best of them. Does his family know that he's still flying around, though...? The plane: Decent straight shot, that's what the IDS shoots. For its subshot, it launches forward bombs that drop to the ground and explode with a long burn time upon impact; the bombs can crash and explode into airborne enemies before hitting the ground. And for its bomb attack, the plane loops over and fires down a scattershot of missiles all around it to create a deadly cloud of explosions. Overall: The IDS is a slow plane, but its got strong firepower and an even stronger bomb attack if you use it right. A good powerhouse of a plane. V. STAGES ========= There are a total of 7 stages, taking place in various locations around the world. What follows is a description of each stage; the places, the enemies, and the bosses. First, it should be noted that the first 3 stages are arranged randomly. There are actually 4 random stages, but you'll only play 3 of them; the only one you won't be playing is the stage that's the same country as that of your chosen plane (e.g., if you play as Hien or Mao, you won't encounter the Japan stage). And now, the stages... RANDOM STAGE: U.S.A. -------------------- The stage begins with you flying high over the city before descending close to the sea. You'll be battling helicopters, jets, and submarines before taking on the boss, a large battleship with plenty of gun turrets and missile launchers. You'll slowly make your way to the battleship's bridge as you battle its many weapons and support choppers that occasionally show up. RANDOM STAGE: JAPAN ------------------- In this stage, you'll be flying close to the city. You can destroy buildings and vehicles as you go; just be careful of the tanks and the choppers that are moving around behind the buildings. Soon, you'll come across a giant building; and that's when you fight the boss, a weird-looking green machine. Watch out, because it'll burst out of the building with its laser attack (and yes, this can kill you). It'll then fly across the devastated city as it tries to shoot you down with its guns, extending harpoons, and laser cannon. Be sure to keep an eye on the ground for enemy tanks as you fight this boss. RANDOM STAGE: SWEDEN -------------------- You'll be flying high over the sea and mountains in this stage. Lots of jets to shoot down here, some of them emerging from hangars in the mountain range. Also, be wary of hidden guns that emerge from the forests. Soon, you'll reach a small base; that's the boss, and it's packed with lots of gun turrets. Don't be fooled though, because this base is actually much bigger than it looks... RANDOM STAGE: ENGLAND --------------------- Choppers, turrets, and lots of tanks in this stage. You'll be flying over grasslands, an old castle, and a field before arriving at an air base; there, you'll take on some jets before chasing after the boss, a large bomber that's about to take off. It's got plenty of guns, some of which are on its wings (they're destroyable, by the way); enemy jets will also occasionally lift off from the runway below and support the bomber. STAGE 4: MIDDLE EAST -------------------- You'll be taking on choppers, jets, and tanks as you fly over this arid place. You'll encounter a couple of gun towers and then fly on into the desert where you battle the boss, a gigantic armored vehicle. It starts out with only a couple of cannons and a turret, but it'll expose more weapons once it expands. Support choppers will also occasionally launch from the boss to pester you. STAGE 5: MEDITERRANEAN ---------------------- Over the sea you go as you face battleships, gunboats, jets, and an aircraft carrier. And then you fly on to battle the boss, a large hovercraft with many gun turrets. This hovercraft shoots a lot, launches gunboats, and moves pretty fast for its size; all that, and support jets will occasionally come in to harass you. This boss is quite difficult... STAGE 6: RUSSIA --------------- This stage has choppers, jets, and many tanks. Not only that, but even the buildings are out to get you; towers will launch and try to collide with you, and a couple of palaces will attack you with guns and hovering structures. Once you get past all that, you'll fly high into the sky and battle the boss, a large black jet. After a while, a second similar jet will join it (you'll see it flying below over the sea before emerging). Aside from shooting down at you, both of these jets also launch missiles that go forward but fire bullets downwards at you. This is quite a hard battle, but you can make it easier by taking down the first jet before the second jet appears. STAGE 7: SPACE -------------- You'll be flying high above the planet in this final stage. Lots of strange machines to take on as you make your way to a great satellite platform; in the middle, you'll encounter a big machine. This is the sub-boss, and it's quite dangerous as it lets loose with fast waves of bullets and two cannons that fire straight down. Once you get past it, you'll fight some more machines before arriving at the end of the satellite; there, a space shuttle will take off. This is another sub-boss, and it'll take you on with plenty of guns; and once it's damaged enough, it'll start sending down electric barriers. Two probes will also detach from the shuttle and attack you as well. Once the shuttle has had enough, it'll release the final boss; a large rocket with a lot of different segments. You'll fight these segments (some of which will detach from the rocket) until you finally reach the skull-shaped warhead. If the both of you start falling through the atmosphere, that means you better hurry up because the boss will escape soon! Sometimes though, you won't get the rocket. Instead, the shuttle will release a capsule; and from that capsule will break out a monkey. Yes, a monkey. It shoots at you with palm attacks, it unleashes bullet waves, and it summons smaller monkeys to attack you. This is the Aero Fighters games' very first instance of a silly final boss, and it won't be the last ;) And in case you're wondering, the bad endings of the rocket and monkey are indeed different. VI. MISCELLANEOUS ================= NAME CHANGE ----------- In Japan, this game is originally known as "Sonic Wings". Perhaps it was renamed for outside-Japan releases so that this game won't be confused with a certain speedy blue hedgehog. Who knows...? AERO FIGHTERS vs STRIKERS 1945 ------------------------------ The Strikers 1945 games are shmups just like the Aero Fighters games. Not only that, but the two game series also happen to be very similar to each other. Similar bullets, similar power-ups, similar gameplay style, and even similar fonts. However, the two game series were made by two different game companies (AF by Video System, and Strikers by Psikyo). So what's going on here? Perhaps the answer lies in the credits of these games. A few names in AF's staff list (like Shin Nakamura and Wataru Yamazaki) also show up in Psikyo's many shmups. I can only conclude from this that some of the staffers moved on to Psikyo and continued to create and refine their shmup style there. This may not be the correct answer though, so don't take my word for it. Still, it's kinda nice to think that Aero Fighters is the granddaddy of all Psikyo shmups even though it's not a Psikyo shmup itself ;) SPECIAL APPEARANCES ------------------- A few certain things make special appearances in this game. But what exactly are these things...? - Rabio Lepus (also known as Rabbit Punch) is a semi-cute horizontal shmup that Video System released prior to the Aero Fighters games. The rabbit-shaped ship from that game (called the Aka Usagi, or Red Rabbit) makes a cameo appearance here in this game. Just check out Mao Mao's ending and you'll see it ;) - Turbo Force is another Video System game released before any Aero Fighters game. This one is a vertical shmup, and it involves flying cars. In Kowful's and T.B.'s joint ending, you can see plenty of Turbo Force arcade machines. If you see any other special appearances in this game that's worth mentioning, please tell me about them. VII. CONCLUSION =============== And there you have it, the lowdown on this arcade game. I hope that you found the info in this FAQ useful; or at least, you found this FAQ to be a nice read. If you wish to contact me (the author) about this FAQ or anything else, just e-mail me at: Thanks for reading this FAQ :) VIII. SPECIAL THANKS ==================== Military Analysis Network, Wikipedia, Aerospaceweb.org, Jeff Ethell's Pireps - Various info on the real life planes that are featured in this game. Destroy All Monsters - Scans and info on the game Aero Fighters Special/Sonic Wings Special. Skyknight - Provided full names for the pilots, subshots, and bomb attacks. Shapermc - Provided the staff lists of Aero Fighters and Gunbird. Shmups.com - A kickass website and community about shmups :) IX. VERSION HISTORY =================== v1.02 (01/06/2004) - Added some more info on all the stages. - Added the Special Appearances section in Miscellaneous. v1.01 (11/25/2003) - Changed the speed info of the F-18, FS-X, and F-14. - Added full names for the planes' pilots, subshots, and bomb attacks. v1.0 (10/26/2003) - Initial release. =============================================================================== Aero Fighters FAQ (arcade) v1.02 (01/06/2004) ===============================================================================